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Standout 'Jeopardy!' player's streak ends with narrow loss

CORRECTS LAST NAME TO TREBEK INSTEAD OF TREBEC This image released by Jeopardy Productions, Inc. shows "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek, left, and contestant Austin Rogers, whose 12-game winning streak came to an end on Thursday's broadcast. Rogers finished his run in fifth place on the all-time regular-season (non-tournament), winning $411,000. (Carol Kaelson/Jeopardy Productions, Inc. via AP)

The New York City bartender narrowly lost on Thursday’s show after a 12-game winning streak that netted him a total $411,000, putting him in fifth place for all-time regular season winnings.

He’s satisfied with the run, Rogers said in an interview.

“I set myself out to win one game. I had no idea I’d be this wildly successful,” he said. “I had no idea I’d find it, honestly, this easy.”

He credits his study of history at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, for encouraging his curious nature, and says devising questions for the trivia quiz nights he hosts proved “a little helpful” on the show.

Scarlett Sims, a stay-at-home mother from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, ended up with $51 more than Rogers after the final question, $33,201 to his $33,150.

He brought an unusually freewheeling, improv-comedy approach to the quiz show. While most players stand obediently as they’re introduced, for instance, Rogers came up with bits of funny business, such as mimicking making a phone call from the stage.

That wasn’t an act for the TV audience, Rogers said. “My know-it-all-ism is who I am. This is not a facade, unfortunately, America. This is how I behave in everyday situations.”

The reaction to his antics surprised Rogers.

“I had a vague feeling that people would be like, ‘Oh, this guy’s sort of random,'” he said, and figured he might be recognized by a few “Jeopardy!” fans on the street. He didn’t expect to be invited to appear on “Good Morning America.”

But why not? He was the cocky player who dared to high-five host Alex Trebek.

“Austin was outside the box — completely different from what many viewers expect a ‘Jeopardy!’ contestant to be,” Trebek said in a statement. “He was fun to be with and slightly irreverent.”

Rogers’ money tally put him behind Ken Jennings, David Madden, Julia Collins and Matt Jackson, a “Jeopardy!” spokeswoman said. He’s tied with Seth Wilson at No. 5 for most consecutive games won, with Jennings again topping the list.

Rogers said he’s hoping to build a media career out of his “Jeopardy!” fame and is mulling what shape that might take. The only certainty at this point is what he’ll do with his winnings: save, not spend.

“I don’t have any real need for that much money. I live a happy life, I’ve got a nice apartment, I don’t have a girlfriend that I need to spend money on right now, I don’t like fancy clothing, I don’t have a car.”

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Lynn Elber can be reached at lelber@ap.org and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lynnelber.